Life as athlete and sport leader propelled Delta's Carla Qualtrough to Trudeau's cabinet

While checking out her offices near Parliament Hill, Canada’s new sport minister discovered a picture left behind by her predecessors.

It was panoramic shot of B.C. Place taken more than a decade ago when Vancouver won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

“I’m in the picture. There are thousands of people in it. It’s kind of a ‘Where’s Waldo’ thing,” Carla Qualtrough told The Canadian Press on Friday.

“It was a left over from the former ministers, but it’s this fantastic panoramic picture. I said (to her staff) ‘I was there on that day. I’m somewhere in this picture. Find me guys.’ Sure enough everyone scoured the picture and they found me.

“It was a moment and I was there and now it’s full circle.”

A Paralympic swimming medallist, a visually impaired lawyer and mother of four, no one like Qualtrough has ever been sport minister.

The 44-year-old newly elected member of Parliament for Delta, B.C., was handed both that portfolio and persons with disabilities by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when cabinet was sworn in Wednesday.

Because of her various roles in the upper levels of sport policy and administration over two decades — Qualtrough was also president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 2006 to 2010 — she knows the players in sport’s bureaucracy and speaks its language.

But Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes rejoiced her appointment on social media because they consider her “one of us.”

Qualtrough (pronounced KWAL-trow) won three Paralympic swimming bronze medals in 1988 and 1992, as well as four world championship medals.

The last elite athlete to hold the position was world champion figure skater Otto Jelinek from 1984 to ’88 in Brian Mulroney’s Conservative cabinet.

“Everything in my life has led me to this,” Qualtrough said. “I feel quite prepared and quite honoured and on the other side I feel a real sense of responsibility because I think the sport community will have very high expectations.

“One of the things I would say is the sport community is prepared to give me the benefit of the doubt. If and when tough decisions are made and if and when people don’t understand why a certain path was chosen, I think they’ll let me explain myself or they’ll let us explain where we’re headed. I think that’s part of the credibility I bring to the position.”

Michelle Stilwell was doubly excited about Qualtrough’s appointment. Stilwell is both a Paralympic champion in wheelchair racing and a cabinet minister in B.C.’s provincial government.

“As soon as I saw her walking into Rideau Hall, I texted her and said ‘I’m so excited to see you walk in there,’” Stilwell said. “I was sitting on the edge of my seat to see if she would get a ministry that was well-suited to her.

“She will bring so much experience and knowledge to the portfolio.”

Canadian taxpayers are the single biggest funder of Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The previous Conservative government under Stephen Harper dedicated over $150 million to high-performance sport between 2010 and 2014.

When asked if the Liberal government would maintain that level of funding, Qualtrough replied: “That is my understanding, yes.”

The Calgary-born Qualtrough has been blind since birth. She has 10 per cent vision when she wears contacts or glasses.

“Everyone is bending over backwards to accommodate my needs, but you have to be able to articulate your needs. People don’t always know,” she said.

“Talking about what font sizes I need and types of software I need or the equipment I may need. Let’s talk about where my office is going to be because I don’t want to break my ankle running to make a vote on the hill because I didn’t see a curb.”

Qualtrough’s husband Eron Main is secretary-general of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, which Qualtrough points out doesn’t receive government funding, so there isn’t a conflict of interest. They have four children ranging in age from three to 18.

Qualtrough has asked for extra office space so she can have her children close by.

“We’re a package deal, me and my kids and people know that,” she said. “There’s a lot of MPs with younger children in this cohort and I think we’re going to have to find creative ways of work-life balance and family-first type policies and practices.”

Qualtrough lived and trained in Ottawa when she was an athlete attending Ottawa University. She was a senior adviser to Sport Minister Paul DeVillers when he held the post in 2002-03.

Qualtrough is back in familiar territory, but wants to break new ground.

“This is my life passion,” Qualtrough said. “I wouldn’t be where I am in life if not for sport.”

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